Global The Hague

China meets Europe, Europe meets China On the 28th and 29th of October the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) organized an unique conference in direct cooperation with the City of The Hague and the West-Holland Foreign Investment Agency (WFIA). It is the first time that the CCPIT, which is part of MofCom, has organized their annual meeting in Europe. The City of The Hague was honored by this gesture and has made every effort to make this meeting a success. The main focus of the meeting was strengthening the trade relations between China and Europe. In the breakout sessions much effort was made to inform Chinese companies on how to invest in Europe. Mr. Zhang Wei, Vice Chairman of the CCPIT, made a very interesting speech about the economic crisis and its impact on the Chinese economy. During the first day of the conference all invited guests from China / Europe were invited by the Europe China Trade Center (ECTC) to participate in the official opening ceremony of the building. The ECTC is the first Chinese wholesale center which will host a few hundred Chinese companies in the next 3 to 5 years. The President of the ECTC Mr. Yang Xinhua is a successful entrepreneur who has been living in Europe for over 20 years.   On the 29th the main congress took place in the World Forum The Hague, where approximately 750 guests participated in the plenary session and a series of breakout sessions. During the meeting several Chinese cars were on display. According to the car dealers, it will take another two years before these cars will enter the European Union. In addition, for the first time in Europe people could taste Chinese wine. Especially for this item Ms. Zheng Yan came to the conference to give background information on the various Chinese vineyards. Afterwards, Mr. Zhang Wei stated he was pleasantly surprised by the large audience and the way the meeting was organized. The CCPIT already confirmed to organize this meeting again in The Hague in 2009. Mr. Wu Mingxin, Economic and Commercial Counselor of the Embassy and Mr. Henk Kool, Vice Mayor City of The Hague, cut the ribbon at the official opening of the ECTC.